MINNESOTA 6, ANAHEIM 1 IN ANAHEIM

Date:  Thursday, August 28.

Batting stars:  Luis Rivas was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBIs.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his thirteenth.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched 6.2 innings, giving up one run on five hits and five walks and striking out three.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk and striking out one.

Opposition star:  Jeff DaVanon was 3-for-4 with a stolen base, his thirteenth.

The game:  There was no scoring until the third.  Chone Figgins walked, stole second and third, and scored on a Garret Anderson single to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.  The Twins did little on offense for the first five innings.  Anaheim loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, but did not score.

It cost them, as the Twins took the lead in the sixth.  Cristian Guzman singled, Rivas hit a two-out double, and Matthew LeCroy delivered a two-run single to make it 2-1 Minnesota.  The Twins took control in the eighth.  Guzman reached on an error and Shannon Stewart was hit by a pitch.  Rivas then hit a two-run double to make it 4-1.  With two out, Jones hit a two-run homer to increase the lead to 6-1, and that's how it ended.

WP:  Lohse (11-10).  LP:  Ramon Ortiz (15-11).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Denny Hocking remained at third in place of Corey Koskie.  Shannon Stewart was in left, with Dustan Mohr in right and Jones at DH.

Stewart was 1-for-3 and was batting .313.  Jones was batting .311.

By game scores, this was Lohse's best start in over two months.  He got his ERA below five at 4.85.  Hawkins dropped his ERA to 2.13.

Future Twin Ortiz started for the Angels and pitched seven innings.  He allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk and struck out three.

Kansas City won but Chicago lost, so while the Twins remained in third they moved closer to first.

Record:  The Twins were 69-64, in third place in the American League Central, 1.5 games behind Chicago and Kansas City, who were tied for first.

ANAHEIM 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN ANAHEIM

Date:  Wednesday, August 27.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4 with a double.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  J. C. Romero pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Chone Figgins was 3-for-5 with a triple.  Scott Spiezio was 2-for-4 with a home run, his thirteenth.  Eric Owens was 2-for-4 with a double.  Robb Quinlan was 2-for-4.  Bengie Molina was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth.

The game:  The Twins played catch-up all night and could never quite get the lead.  In the bottom of the first Figgins led off with a triple and scored on Owens' single-plus-error.  Owens went to third on a ground ball and scored on a sacrifice fly, putting the Angels up 2-0.

The Twins scored one in the second when Hunter doubled and Pierzynski singled.  Anaheim got the run back in the third when Tim Salmon walked, went to second on an infield out, and scored on Shawn Wooten's single.  The Twins again cut the lead to one in the fifth as Pierzynski was hit by a pitch, went to third on an error and scored on a ground out.  They tied it up in the sixth when Matthew LeCroy singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on Hunter's single.  But the tie lasted only for two batters, as Molina homered in the bottom of the sixth to put the Angels back up 4-3.

The Twins again tied it in the seventh.  Denny Hocking walked, went to third on a single-plus-error by Cristian Guzman, and scored on a ground out.  This time the tie lasted for three batters, as Spiezio homered in the bottom of the seventh to make it 5-4 Anaheim.

And that's where it stayed.  The Twins loaded the bases in the eighth and got a one-out single in the ninth, but the score did not change.

WP:  Ben Weber (4-1).  LP:  Juan Rincon (3-6).  S:  Troy Percival (28).

Notes:  Hocking was at third base in place of Corey Koskie, who would not return until August 30.  Jacque Jones was in left with Shannon Stewart in right.  Michael Ryan pinch-hit for Hocking in the eighth and Chris Gomez went to third base in the ninth.

Michael Ryan was 0-for-1 and was batting .429.  Stewart was 1-for-5 and is batting .313.  Jones was 1-for-4 and is batting .311.  Pierzynski got back up over .300 at .301.

Kenny Rogers started for the Twins and pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eleven hits and a walk, striking out none.  Aaron Sele started for the Angels and also pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk and striking out four.

Chicago and Kansas City both won big, so the Twins lost a game to both of their rivals.

Record:  The Twins were 68-64, in third place in the American League Central, 2.5 games behind Chicago.  They were 1.5 games behind second-place Kansas City.